Some Friends, Vol. 1

I guess after that first post I should get on with actually talking about music then! There’s still a lot more theory I’d like to investigate. What, for example, makes a rock song be a rock song? Where is the essence of rock? I believe this is something that can be found out. But there I go again… I’ll start by talking about some of the music albums that have marked my musical path. They’re not necessarily classics, but they’re the most likely to be on my top 10 at any given time. It changes often, but these seem to stay on it forever. They’re like friends that have a new story to tell you every time you see them, and even if you’ve been away for long, as soon as you start listening again you feel right at home.

Rush – Vapor Trails

Most Rush fans aren’t very fond of this album. I can see why. It’s quite an atipical release for Rush. No guitar solos, relatively few odd meters, pretty straightfoward song structures… At the time I bought this album, however, none of that mattered, because I was 13 and had never heard a single Rush album. All I knew about them was the song “Tom Sawyer”, which I had heard a couple of times on the radio and could barely remember. But this beautiful cover (the picture’s a bit odd. This thing is beautiful in real life) captivated me enough to make me pay some 18 hard earned dollars on it (I’m from Brazil and I’m making a rough convertion… it cost me 36 reais at the time). I don’t believe I’ve spent money better than this in my life.

I had read somewhere that this was a comeback album for Rush. But as soon as “One Little Victory” started, none of that mattered. The music was simply destructive, it demanded attention, it made the entire world dissapear. Each new song made me ore impressed. By the album’s end, not knowing exactly what had hit me, all I could do was listen to it. I believe I spent some 2 or 3 months listening to it every day, at least once. I was floored to know that only 3 guys could make such a huge racket. I refuse to believe that the bass guitar Geddy Lee was playing was the same instrument I had tried to play a few times and had trouble even holding it. The lyrics, some of neil Peart’s most misterious, coupled with the tarot cards from the booklet, made me curious and eager to know everything there was to know about this album. These lyrics, I still know all of them by heart, seven years later.

The mixing of the album was heavily criticized. It was said to be too “loud” and “rough”, a prime example of the Loudness Wars. I disagree. That roughness is a crucial part of the album. The absurd walls of guitar in “Ceiling Unlimited”, “Peaceble Kingdom” “Secret Touch” and “Freeze” are part of what makes these songs and this album so intense and exciting. There’s a real feeling that yopur stereo is about to pop when these loud parts come on, and it’s awesome. Even on the “softer” songs, like “Earthshine” and “The Stars Look Down”, the loudness really makes the sonic imagery more vivid and colorful

I don’t know if I should go song-by-song here, because I’m afraid things would get reeeeeeeally slow paced and boring. But I do feel like it! There’s not one song on this album I can’t say something great about. So I think I’ll do just that: The drums on “One Little Victory”, the flying chorus and amazing bass part of “Ceiling Unlimited”, the touching lyrics and creative drumming on “Ghost Rider”, the heavy walls of guitar and fantastic lyrics of “Peaceble Kingdom” (one of the best 9/11 songs ever made), the misterious ambience and crushing verses of “The Stars Look Down”, the little guitar and clever lyrics in “How It Is”, the arpegiated hook and the fantastic drumming on the title track; “Secret Touch”’s absurdly loud climax, the highly emotive chorus and crushing guitar riff in “Earthshine”, The compact structure and great lyrics in “Sweet Miracle”, the noisy chorus and tribal drumming in “Nocturne”, The odd meter and amazing lyrics in “Freeze” and the excellent way “Out Of The Cradle” closes the album on such a positive note. And that’s only the tip of the tip of the tip of the iceberg.

Do look in the comments if my rambling has made you the slightest bit curious! After all this, al I can do is beg you to give this album a listen if you like rock music at all. Maybe (probably) in the future I’ll talk about it some more, focusing on a few aspects of it, or at least on a few songs.